GIVE Day Celebrates 15 Years of Service to Others

Saturday, Sept. 15, 2012 -- Gannon University’s 15th annual GIVE Day was one to remember, thanks to the dedicated work of some 1,000 Gannon students, faculty, staff and alumni locally and nationally.

The students, faculty, staff and alumni strengthened their respective communities through their participation in GIVE (Gannon’s Invitation to Volunteer Everywhere) Day. The volunteers, to include Gannon University President Keith Taylor, Ph.D., volunteered for a number of local agencies and organizations and for projects like the International Coastal Cleanup.

In addition, a major, and new, focus of this year’s GIVE Day was planting 130 trees within the University’s Erie-GAINS neighborhood. The “TreeVitalize” project alone involved nearly 200 Gannon students.

Valuable support for the project was provided by the City of Erie’s arborist, Sarah Galloway, the City of Erie Bureau of Fire and Pennsylvania Army National Guard, HHC 1st Battalion, 112th Infantry in Cambridge Springs. The guard members helped with watering the trees after they had been planted.

In terms of planting their trees, students and other volunteers worked in small teams, first digging the holes carefully and then making sure the trees were planted properly and secure. “The TreeVitalize project took months of advance preparation and considerable support from the community, local residents and the many partners who helped make it so successful,” said Gretchen Fairley, Gannon’s director of Service-Learning. “It’s extremely exciting to think that the efforts of the TreeVitalize volunteers will positively impact the community for many years to come.”

The trees, provided to the homeowners at no cost, will have many benefits:

Increase property values

Slow vehicle traffic in residential neighborhoods

Improve pedestrian traffic in commercial zones

Sequester carbon so as to reduce greenhouse gases and pollutants, resulting in cleaner and healthier air

Transform and give new life to barren areas

Provide shade and cooling during warm summer months

Create a sense of calm and serenity that has been linked to reduced crime